Beverage transportation satchel

ABSTRACT

A beverage transportation satchel designed to assist a user in carrying a case of beverages on their person is disclosed. The satchel comprises a plurality of elongated straps which are arranged to form a cradle which is responsible for interfacing with the beverage case. More specifically, the cradle is designed to support beverage cases wherein the straps are adjustable in order to resize the cradle to accommodate many different sizes of beverage cases. The cradle is also collapsible in order to facilitate easy transport of the beverage satchel when it is not being used to carry a beverage case. Due to the efficient design of the cradle, the present invention may be compressed down to a very small size when not in use.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to satchels for the transportation of objects on the person of a user. More specifically, the present invention is a beverage transportation satchel which allows the user to conveniently carry a case of beverages on their person for consumption at some remote location. Once the beverages are consumed, the present invention may be easily collapsed down small enough to fit into the user's pocket, thereby making the present invention extremely convenient to keep on hand.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Nearly all living animals, particularly mammals, drink fluids on a regular basis. Water is a fluid that is a basic necessity for life, and humans are no exception to this rule. Proper hydration is important to a person's survival. Although simple water is sufficient to provide the necessary fluid replacement for daily water losses experience, many people enjoy consuming other fluids which have specific tastes or enjoyable side effects. There are many different kinds of fluids which can be ingested by humans. Some of these fluids are intended solely for hydration, such as water, while others are meant for taste enjoyment, such as soda. Yet other fluids which can be consumed by humans are popular for their enjoyable side effects; alcohol is an example of this, and many people enjoy the feeling induced by consuming moderate amounts of the substance. Furthermore, most people enjoy having something to drink with meals, or at events, or simply whenever they are thirsty. Thus, there are a myriad of different beverages which can be purchased in markets and are safe for human consumption.

Some beverages such as soda and beer are sold in large cases which contain a plurality of individual cans. Such beverage cases are ideal for deployment at picnics or other outdoor events such as barbeques and tailgate parties. Tailgate parties, (also known as tailgating) typically refers to the exercise of celebrating a sporting event for several hours prior to the start of the game. Unfortunately, beverage cases also tend to be quite heavy, mainly as a result of the relatively high density of the fluids and the sheer volume contained within each beverage case. This can make beverage cases somewhat difficult to carry. As are result of this fact, many beverage cases have temporary handles built into them to facilitate transportation by the consumer. This is convenient, and effective enough to move the beverage cases over short distances, such as out of a car and onto a picnic table.

Unfortunately, these integrated handles are not comfortable enough or durable enough to withstand a longer carrying range. For example, if a person wishes to transport a case of beverages a substantial distance from their car to a picnic site. Another example would be a college student carrying a case of beverages from their dorm room to a sporting event in an on-campus stadium. It would be extremely difficult to carry a typically heavy beverage case over such a long distance. Therefore, there is a need for a simple and convenient way for a person by themselves to transport and carry beverage cases over long distances.

SUMMARY

A beverage transportation satchel which is specifically designed to assist a user in carrying a case of beverages on their person is disclosed. The satchel comprises a plurality of elongated straps which are arranged and interconnected to form a cradle which is responsible for interfacing with the beverage case. More specifically, the cradle is designed to support beverage cases wherein the straps are adjustable in order to resize the cradle to accommodate many different sizes of beverage cases. The cradle is also collapsible in order to facilitate easy transport of the beverage satchel when it is not being used to carry a beverage case. Due to the efficient design of the cradle, the present invention may be compressed down to a very small size when not in use.

It is an object of the present invention to allow the user to conveniently carry a case of beverages on their person for consumption at some remote location, such as a picnic site or sporting event.

It is yet another object of the present invention that when its collapsed it is small enough to be placed into a user's pocket and conveniently carried until it is needed again.

It is still yet another object that the present invention enables mobility of beverage cases, making it much easier for users without access to cars to transport their beverages over longer distances.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

All illustrations of the drawings are for the purpose of describing selected versions of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a user transporting a case of beer using the beverage satchel in accordance with the present invention; and

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the different embodiments of the beverage satchel of the present invention for supporting and allowing a beverage case to be easily transported.

DETAIL DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a perspective view of a user 12 transporting a case of beer 14 using the beverage transportation satchel 10 in accordance with the present invention. The beverage transportation satchel 10 is intended to make it much easier to carry a case of beverages when the user 12 must walk a long distance to the point where the beverages are ultimately consumed. The beverage transportation satchel 10 is very advantageous for those users who wish to carry beverages to events such as sports games, but do not have a vehicle with which to more easily transport heavy objects such as cases which contain a plurality of beverages. A typical beverage case weights about 9.5 pounds.

This is important, as beverages come in a wide variety of different case sizes, often depending on the type of beverage, and the number of individual beverages which are packaged within the case. However, it is a preferred embodiment of the present invention that the beverage transportation satchel will allow users to easily carry and transport a standard 12-pack having canned beverages packaged in a three by four configuration. To accomplish this goal, the beverage transportation satchel 10 comprises a plurality of straps which are arranged to form a cradle which is responsible for interfacing with the beverage case, as will be more fully described below.

The cradle may also be expanded to carry a 12-pack of bottled beverages. The standard industry size for a 12-pack of cans is about 5″×8″×10″ and for bottles it is about 7″×10″×10″. It is envisioned that the cradle may even be used to carry a 24-can case which is 5″×10″×16″, but this would make the load twice as heavy. The ability of the cradle to expand slightly allows different items to fit. It also allows for a flexible insulating sleeve (not shown) to be inserted, which would cover the beverage case. With this function, the wearer's hands will be free to perform other tasks, such as drinking a beverage. It should be understood that the cradle is not intended to carry a case of bottles that are too big or bulky. The purpose of the cradle is to interface with the beverage case and support it to allow it to be carried more easily by the user.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the cradle 20 comprises four pieces: a perimeter strap 22, a lateral support strap 24, a vertical strap 26, and a storage pouch 25 that can expand and serve as the shoulder pad 28. The perimeter strap 22 defines a closed loop fabricated using flexible material. Furthermore, the perimeter strap 22 includes an adjustment buckle 23 located somewhere along its length which allows for the overall diameter of the perimeter strap 22 to vary. It should be noted that the primary function of the perimeter strap 22 is to be wrapped around the outer perimeter of a beverage case 21 that is placed within the cradle 20 thereby providing horizontal stabilization of the beverage case 21.

As shown in FIG. 2, perimeter strap 22 is wrapped around the exterior of beverage case 21. In order to facilitate the cradle 20 being compatible with a wide variety of different beverage cases, the perimeter strap 22 must be adjustable in overall diameter. As mentioned before, the perimeter strap 22 includes adjustment buckle 23 that allows the diameter of the perimeter strap 22 to be adapted to suit a wide variety of different sized beverage cases. By way of example but not of limitation, the adjustment buckle 23 may be any kind of commercially available strap buckle that uses either friction or a clamping mechanism in order to retain its position along the perimeter strap 22. In use, the user is able to manipulate the adjustment buckle 23 to change the overall length and diameter of the perimeter strap 22. Additionally, the perimeter strap 22 may be fabricated from materials which include, but not limited to materials such as parachute cord, nylon cord, and nylon straps.

Turning once again to FIG. 2, the perimeter strap 22 wraps around the case 21 horizontally and provides adequate horizontal containment for any beverage case 21 supported by the cradle 20. The perimeter strap 22 adjusts to match the width and thickness of the case. However, the perimeter strap 22 by itself is insufficient to provide the vertical support necessary to hold the beverage case 21 in the cradle 20. The extra needed support is achieved through the use of a lateral support strap 24 and a longitudinal support strap 26 both of which are attached to the perimeter strap 22. Referring once again to FIG. 2, the lateral support strap 24 and the vertical support strap 26 are both shown attached to the perimeter strap 22 via attachment loops 30.

This method of attaching the lateral strap 24 and the vertical strap 26 to the perimeter strap 22 enables them to shift back and forth relative to the perimeter strap 22. This strapping configuration is necessary to ensure that balance and support of the beverage case 21 is maintained. The lateral support strap 24 and the vertical strap 26 also both include a support strap adjustment buckle 23 which is positioned somewhere along their lengths. The support strap adjustment buckle 23 once again allows the user to change the length of the lateral support strap 24 and the vertical strap 26 to better fit varying sizes of beverage cases 21. The lateral support strap 24 and the vertical strap 26 are fabricated from the same material used in the manufacturing of the perimeter strap 22. With the lateral support strap 24 and the vertical strap 26 both attached to the perimeter strap 26, beverage case 21 is now fully vertically supported when placed into the cradle 20 as can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 2.

While the cradle 20 fully supports the beverage case 21 placed within it, both horizontally and vertically, the cradle 20 alone is not sufficient to allow the user 12 to easily carry a beverage case 21. The vertical strap 26 is included to allow the user 12 to easily and conveniently carry any beverage case 21 which may be placed therein. The vertical strap 26 goes all the way over the shoulder and is intended to support the weight of the cradle 20 and any beverage case 21 placed therein by interfacing with the user's shoulder. This strap 26 includes an adjustment feature (not shown) so that it can be adjusted based on the size of the user 12.

The vertical strap 26 may be constructed out of nylon webbing material or a plastic harness framework with a nylon webbing strap that may be detached from the beverage case after purchase and used to carry the invention. In a preferred embodiment, the best size for this is ¾″ wide, although a ½″ width may work better for compactness. Moreover, the width dimension is enough to place logos or advertising on the strap such as logos of colleges and sports teams or leagues (NASCAR) or brand names. Another way to include marketing aspects is to build something integral into the case itself that is thrown away with the case when it is empty.

Although not shown in the drawings, it should be understood that the vertical strap 26 incorporates both a shoulder cord and a shoulder adjustment bracket (not shown). The shoulder cord is a flexible strip of material having some length and cross sectional area. However, it is important that dimensionally the vertical strap 26 be of sufficient size to adequately support a beverage case 21 when placed in the cradle 20. Additionally, both ends of this strap 26 are connected directly to the perimeter strap 22, as can be seen in FIG. 2, at the left and the right side of perimeter strap 22. Thus, the vertical strap 26 can provide vertical support to the cradle 20 and the main support under the case of beverages. As shown in FIG. 1, this allows a user 12 to carry the cradle 20 very easily on their person by placing the vertical strap 26 over their shoulder and using their shoulder to support the weight of the present invention and any beverage case therein.

The shoulder adjustment buckle (not shown) is positioned along the shoulder cord, and allows the overall length of the vertical strap 26 to be either lengthened or shortened depending on the needs of the user 12. It is important to note that the vertical strap 26 needs to be adjustable, as the cradle 20, and any beverage case 21 placed therein must be suspended high enough such that it does not impact the user's legs when they walk. Ideally, the cradle 20 should be suspended around waist height when the present invention is worn by the user 12. Allowing adjustment of the vertical strap 26 length ensures that the cradle 20 can be positioned at the ideal height regardless of the physical dimensions of the user 12.

In yet another preferred embodiment, a storage pouch 25 may be added to strap 26 wherein the storage pouch 25 can be expanded to become a shoulder pad 28 as shown in FIG. 2. The shoulder pad 28 mitigates and/or eliminates any discomfort which would otherwise be experienced by the user 12 from the weight of the load. The shoulder pad 28 is connected midway along the vertical strap 26, and may also be allowed to translate along the vertical strap 26 to facilitate adaptation to user preferences. The shoulder pad 28 is fabricated from a soft compressible material which helps to absorb and distribute forces between the shoulder cord and the user's shoulder. To facilitate this, the shoulder pad 28 is placed in between the vertical strap 26 and the user's shoulder.

The beverage transportation satchel is also collapsible in order to facilitate easy transport when it is not being used to carry a beverage case. Due to the efficient design of the cradle, the beverage transportation satchel may be compressed down to a very small size. The storage pocket 25 further facilitates the collapse and transport of the beverage transportation satchel when not in use. The storage pocket 25 provides a volume within which the folded and collapsed cradle 20 may be placed. Therefore, the present invention folds down into a very small space, and may be easily placed into a user's pocket (not shown) for transport.

Although the present invention has been explained in relation to its preferred embodiment, it should be understood that many other possible modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as herein described. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A beverage transportation satchel, comprising: a plurality of elongated straps arranged and interconnected to each other as to form a cradle; wherein said elongated straps are adjustable for sizing said cradle to support a variety of different size beverage cases for transport that are placed within said cradle.
 2. The satchel according to claim 1, wherein said elongated straps include a perimeter strap; a lateral support strap and a vertical strap.
 3. The satchel according to claim 1, wherein said straps are adjustable by using a strap buckle.
 4. The satchel according to claim 1, wherein one of said elongated straps is a perimeter strap wherein said perimeter strap is wrapped around the outer perimeter of a beverage case to be placed within said cradle and provides horizontal stabilization of the beverage case.
 5. The satchel according to claim 1, wherein said cradle can dimensionally expand slightly allowing for a flexible insulating sleeve to be inserted for covering the beverage case
 6. The satchel according to claim 1, wherein said cradle has a vertical strap that includes an expandable storage pouch that can also serve as a shoulder pad.
 7. The satchel according to claim 1, wherein said elongated straps are a perimeter strap; a lateral support strap and a vertical strap wherein said lateral and longitudinal support straps are both attached to said perimeter strap using attachment loops wherein the interconnection provides support necessary for said cradle to transport beverage cases.
 8. The satchel according to claim 1, wherein said elongated straps are a perimeter strap; a lateral support strap and a vertical strap wherein said lateral and longitudinal support straps are both attached to said perimeter strap using attachment loops enables them to shift back and forth relative to said perimeter strap wherein this strapping configuration ensures that balance and support of the beverage case is maintained when being transported by said cradle.
 9. The satchel according to claim 1, wherein said cradle has a vertical strap which incorporates both a shoulder cord and a shoulder adjustment bracket wherein dimensionally said vertical strap is sufficiently sized to adequately support a beverage case when placed in said cradle.
 10. A beverage transportation satchel, comprising: A cradle formed by interconnecting three elongated straps wherein said three elongated straps are each individually adjustable for allowing said cradle to support a variety of different size beverage cases for transport when housed within said cradle.
 11. The satchel according to claim 10, wherein said three elongated straps are a perimeter strap; a lateral support strap and a vertical strap wherein each strap may be fabricated from materials which include materials such as parachute cord, nylon cord, and nylon straps.
 12. The satchel according to claim 10, wherein said straps are each adjustable by using an adjustment buckle that uses either friction or a clamping mechanism in order for each strap to retain its position.
 13. The satchel according to claim 10, wherein said cradle includes a perimeter strap that is wrapped around the outer perimeter of a beverage case providing horizontal stabilization of the beverage case.
 14. The satchel according to claim 10, wherein said cradle includes a vertical strap that defines a width dimension for the placement of logos or advertising on said strap.
 15. The satchel according to claim 10, wherein said cradle has an adjustable vertical strap wherein said strap adjustment insures that said cradle 20 and any beverage case will be suspended high enough such that it does not impact the user's legs when they walk.
 16. The satchel according to claim 10, wherein said cradle is formed by a perimeter strap; a lateral support strap and a vertical strap wherein said lateral and longitudinal support straps are both attached to said perimeter strap providing necessary support for said cradle to transport beverage cases.
 17. The satchel according to claim 10 is collapsible in order to facilitate easy transport when it is not being used to carry a beverage case.
 18. The satchel according to claim 10, wherein said cradle is formed by lateral and longitudinal support straps that are both attached to a perimeter strap allowing said straps to shift back and forth relative to said perimeter strap which ensures that balance and support of the beverage case is maintained when being transported by said cradle.
 19. The satchel according to claim 10, wherein said cradle has a vertical strap which incorporates both a shoulder cord and a shoulder adjustment bracket wherein dimensionally said vertical strap is sufficiently sized to adequately support a beverage case when placed in said cradle.
 20. A beverage transportation satchel designed to assist a user in carrying a case of beverages on their person comprising: a plurality of elongated straps arranged to form a cradle for interfacing with the beverage case wherein said cradle is designed to support beverage cases where said straps are adjustable in order to resize said cradle to accommodate different sizes of beverage cases. 